Jacqui Scruby, the new independent Pittwater MP, is pushing hard for the NSW Labor Government to declare the long-promised Great Koala National Park and end all logging within the park before the end of the year.  

‘The clock is ticking, and the fate of one of Australia’s most iconic species may hinge on swift and bold action from the NSW Government,’ warned Ms Scruby.    

In her first week in office, she joined fellow independent MPs in a written demand to Premier Chris Minns to act immediately, with the NSW Forestry Corporation intensifying logging within the proposed boundaries before they lose access.  

'This activity is a real threat to the integrity of the park,' says the joint letter.   

'The planned Great Koala National Park will significantly expand the protection for high biodiversity value native forests in the Coffs Harbour region, including some of the best koala habitat in the state. It's been an electoral promise from Labor for the past three elections, but after twenty months in power, it has still not been finalised.   

'We share many in the community's eagerness to see the park protected before the end of the year.   

'Once old trees are gone, these logged forests will take decades to recover, if they ever do. Their ecological integrity is significantly diminished and they become more vulnerable to fire and infestation by invasive weeds.   

The letter, which is co-signed by Jacqui Scruby, Alex Greenwich MP, Member for Sydney, Michael Regan MP, Member for Wakehurst, Judy Hannan MP, Member for Wollondilly, and Greg Piper MP, Member for Lake Macquarie. All are independents.     

'Native state forests are public assets belonging to everyone in our state', they wrote.  

'NSW Forestry Corporation is a public state-owned corporation, which the government controls. There is a clear public interest case to conserve these forests for current and future generations, as well as for carbon storage. We all have a stake in this, but only your government has the power to make it happen.'    

In their letter the independent MPs urged Chris Minns to declare the Great Koala National Park as a matter of urgency and 'deliver a legacy all of NSW can be proud of' and committed to work with the government to fulfil its election promise to exit entirely from logging in the NSW public native forest estate.    

‘A NSW inquiry warned that Koalas would be extinct by 2050 unless something done, so it is imperative that we act before it is too late.  The clock is ticking, and the fate of one of Australia’s most iconic species may hinge on swift and bold action from the NSW Government,’ said Ms Scruby. 

‘This sits heavily with people here because it wasn’t so long ago that Pittwater had koalas. And our philosophy is what we love in Pittwater is what we want for broader NSW.  

‘We have a large number of constituents, who are strong advocates to end native forest logging and protect koalas. In November, I attended a screening of The Koalas Film: A story about survival and panel discussion with conservation groups at a full Collaroy cinema to discuss what can be done to protect them.   

‘I plan to continue to put pressure on the NSW Government at every opportunity, until the park is delivered,’ promised Ms Scruby.